Safe temperature and RH to avoid beetle

[Uwiik]

Hi all,

I have amazed quite a collection of CC and NC, off course like any other aficionado I often had difficulty sleeping due to paranoia of anything that can ruin my prized collection… I always religiously wipe all the boxes with 96% iso alcohol before storage and I wasn’t worried about beetle at all due to the temperature I used to keep my cigar, it used to be 17-18C (62-65F) with 63-65 RH (both CC and NC), I religiously calibrated my Govee hygrometer multiple times X 24hr before each use so I know my parameters are spot on.
 

Thanks to Professor Piggy I realized these past couple of weeks that the low temp is actually causing my cigar to smoke humid despite the low-ish (63-65) RH setting thus resulting in unpleasant smoke towards the end due to multiple relighting required on each cigar and that includes my NC too. I always smoke indoor in a big room with AC at ideal climate 22-24 C (71-77 F) 55-62RH, even my Padron collection who most people said must be kept at 65-69, I found to lose all the creamy flavor, left with too peppery of a flavor and struggle with consistent burn requiring way too many relighting (I smoke slow) when kept at elevated humidity (65-67 RH), I just couldn’t finish a Padron that’s been kept at 65-69 RH, tasted to awful for me…So I made the switch to 20-21C (68-70F) and even lower RH at 61-63% for both my CC and NC and voila!! Things changed drastically for the better, Padron from the same box which I couldn’t stand a couple of weeks ago suddenly smoked perfectly with all the flavors jumping around my palate, only peppery for the first few draws and transformed into creamy, complex and flavorful dream thereafter down to the last centimeter of nub, retrohale is an absolute dream, never harsh.

Then off course I had to spend my pre-bedtime slumber into FOH-ing and found out that beetle begin to hatch at 21C (70F), that is too close for my comfort. I never freeze any of my box and I don’t want to start freezing my existing stock now due to the large collection I already possessed, the hassle and the prospect of repeating the resting time all over again. I’d rather manage it some other way. So I dropped the temp again this morning to 19C (66F) and off course Murphy’s law came into effect, for some reason my electric humidor always overshoot the 19C (66F) setting to 18.3-18.7C (65F) in actual measured temperature, then again I tried 20C (68F) setting and in reality it stays around 20.5-20.7C, there is no in-between setting that produces consistent middle way such as 19C (66F) in real measured temperature, it’s either too low at 18.3-18.7C (65F) or too close to beetle hatching temperature at 20.5-20.7 C (68-69F)…

I know that my cigar smokes the best for my palate at 20-21C (68-70F) but I am beetle paranoid now…Should I be worried if I insist on 20-21C (68-70F) or am I WAY overthinking it? Please advise… 

Many thanks in advance!! 

[NSXCIGAR]

22 minutes ago, Uwiik said:

beetle begin to hatch at 21C (70F),

Beetles can physically hatch at temps of about 60°F however that is rare and rH would have to be around 80%. The caveat is that larvae become inactive below 66°F and can't burrow through the cigar. And of course a solid freeze cracks all eggs. 

The bottom line is if you can keep your temps at or below 66°F you'll be absolutely fine. If your temps are above that be sure to freeze everything. 

[Uwiik]

1 hour ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Beetles can physically hatch at temps of about 60°F however that is rare and rH would have to be around 80%. The caveat is that larvae become inactive below 66°F and can't burrow through the cigar. And of course a solid freeze cracks all eggs. 

The bottom line is if you can keep your temps at or below 66°F you'll be absolutely fine. If your temps are above that be sure to freeze everything. 

I am at right below 66F right now due to my fear of beetle hatching, but as I explained above I think I like the smoke and flavor better at 69-70F. Would it help to prevent beetle hatching if I keep temp slightly elevated at 67-69 while keeping it really dry at 62-64 RH? Or no bueno? If below 66F is a must then I think I need to drop my RH even lower at 60-62% to make sure it’s dry dry. 

Thanks for the advices 🙏

[NSXCIGAR]

Anything above 66°F presents some non-zero risk of beetles. There's no way to sugar coat it. Obviously the higher the temperature the greater the risk but there is a risk, albeit low. 

My advice is if you intend to store above 66° you should freeze everything before introducing it into your humidor. It's a habit for many of us to freeze everything upon receipt anyway. The long and the short of it is that above 66°F there is a possibility--as low as it is--of beetles hatching and burrowing out. 

[Uwiik]

1 hour ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Anything above 66°F presents some non-zero risk of beetles. There's no way to sugar coat it. Obviously the higher the temperature the greater the risk but there is a risk, albeit low. 

My advice is if you intend to store above 66° you should freeze everything before introducing it into your humidor. It's a habit for many of us to freeze everything upon receipt anyway. The long and the short of it is that above 66°F there is a possibility--as low as it is--of beetles hatching and burrowing out. 

Thanks for the non sugar coat explanation!! Much appreciated!! Then I guess I just have to man up and freeze everything in rotation while keeping humidor temp below 66F before I am done with everything. Yes I intend to keep my cigar higher than 66F in the future because for me it only makes sense if I keep my cigar closer to the temp I am smoking it under. 

I know I have read this somewhere but I would appreciate it if you could provide some more information. My freezer can get down as low as -23C (-11.2F), how long should I freeze on this temperature? I also have some older CC from 2020-2022 that are ready to smoke right now, how long after freezing should I rest these before these are good to smoke again? I assume NC also suffer the same fate, it’s the same non discriminatory beetle ain’t it? 
 

Thanks a bunch!! 

[NSXCIGAR]

3 hours ago, Uwiik said:

how long should I freeze on this temperature?

As long as the freeze is complete that's sufficient. A few hours is enough for a total freeze or the same time it would take room temperature water to fully freeze. After freezing the cigars should be stable and smokeable after a week or so in the humidor. 

Freezing all your cigars before putting them in the humi should really be standard practice. All CCs are frozen at the warehouse in Cuba prior to export but they may end up back in sub-optimal conditions before actually leaving the island which will attract beetles. 

[Uwiik]

Done with 80% of my stock right now. I just saran wrapped everything tightly and chuck em on my freezer. I never knew how big my freezer is until today. LOL...it will swallow my whole stock with ease.

I also freeze all my NC too, just to be safe I suppose. My supplier friend is strongly against it but I thought, “why not?” 

[Adisaputra]

Based on my study at FOH, lowering down the temperature along with the rH will not make the cigar dry, since the percent moisture content will increase. A cigar will be dried out if we lower the rH only while keeping the temperature a bit high. Is my understanding correct @PigFish? 

[Uwiik]

13 hours ago, Adisaputra said:

Based on my study at FOH, lowering down the temperature along with the rH will not make the cigar dry, since the percent moisture content will increase. A cigar will be dried out if we lower the rH only while keeping the temperature a bit high. Is my understanding correct @PigFish? 

I am not Pigfish but my experience dictates that fact. I used to keep my RH quite low at 62-64 @ 17C and my cigar was wet, I struggled a lot with burn issues even on my NC, then based on what I read from @PigFish posts I raised my temp to 20C while dropping my RH a bit lower at 61-63 and I can definitely feel the difference after a few days.

[Uwiik]

@NSXCIGAR one more last question please. Do I need special treatment after freezing for all the tubos? Heard somewhere that I need to open all tubos and let these rest for a while after freezing to avoid condensation? 

[NSXCIGAR]

12 minutes ago, Uwiik said:

@NSXCIGAR one more last question please. Do I need special treatment after freezing for all the tubos? Heard somewhere that I need to open all tubos and let these rest for a while after freezing to avoid condensation? 

Not a bad idea. I could see letting the cigars re-acclimate in the humi without tubes for a week or so before putting them back in. I also check the cigars in tubes a few times a year to make sure no mold is developing. 

[Uwiik]

6 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Not a bad idea. I could see letting the cigars re-acclimate in the humi without tubes for a week or so before putting them back in. I also check the cigars in tubes a few times a year to make sure no mold is developing. 

Thanks so much for the advice!! Have a cool weekend